Double Take is all about bold colors and a strong graphic design. This is because it will be used for my Alma Mater's Homecoming celebration (once I add a custom layered applied logo to it) and so I wanted to make sure it would appeal to college kids. And I just love the way it turned out.
Double Take might look a little complex, but trust me, you are going to be amazed at how easy it is to put together!!! Using lots of strip piecing and then a lattice template to trim, this quilt top goes together in a jiffy!!! And it is so fun and easy to make!!!!
And now that this
Moda Bake Shop Tutorial has been published for a while, I can now post it here
on my blog for your convenience ;) So just follow along
below for the full step-by-step tutorial. And if you love it, you can get
the printer friendly version here :)
This quilt finishes at 80" x 80".. So let's get right to it. Here is what you will need:
1 Bella Solids White Layer Cake
1 Bella Solids Red Jelly Roll
1 Bella Solids Black Jelly Roll
2 1/4 Yards Bella Solids Red
1 1/2 Yards Bella Solids Black
5 Yards of Backing Fabric
**Of course you can use other color combos, just switch the colors you want in the desired locations. And be sure to check out the end of the post to see how just changing the position of the light and dark colors in the quilt can really change the overall appearance ;)
STEP 1 - CUTTING
From your Red Bella Solids Yardage cut (17) 4 1/2" x Width of Fabric Strips.
From your Black Bella Solids Yardage cut (34) 1 1/2" x Width of Fabric Strips.
No need to worry about trimming the selvages or anything. Just be sure to press the yardage first so it is nice and flat with no creases. Then just make a straight edge and cut your strips.
And now the cutting is done. Not to tuff right!!! And with that, we are moving on to some fun strip piecing!!! Strip piecing is a great time saver!! We will be making 17 strip sets and we will start by strip piecing a 2 1/2" x WOF Red Strip and a 2 1/2" x WOF Black Strip together. Place the Red and Black strips with right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge aligning as you stitch. And if the ends don't line up perfectly, no worries. It will all be trimmed down the line.
Now, we are going to add a second 2 1/2" x WOF Black Strip to the raw edge side of the Red strip. Place the Black strip onto the Red Strip with right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam along the edge aligning as you go. Continue to chain stitch all 17 strip sets this way.
And when you are finished stitching, clip the threads between each strip set. Press the seams outwards towards the black strips. Take care when pressing not to stretch the fabric, this can be easy to do when pressing such long strips. Now go ahead and set these strips aside for a moment.
With your strips all pressed and neat, you are ready to cut them into our Strip Units. Start by folding your Strip Set in half and lying on your cutting mat aligned with a horizontal line. Once again, it is okay if the ends of the strip don't line up perfectly. Trim a Straight edge along the left hand side of the strip. Measure in 13 1/2" and cut along the side of your ruler. This one cut creates 3 Strip Set Units. The folded unit will be a little longer but no worries ;)
And with the cutting done, we are once again moving onto some chain stitching, his time, adding on the white triangles we cut earlier. Start by finger pressing your Strip Set Unit in half. You just need to be able to see the crease. Align a White Triangle with right sides together on the strip set matching the finger crease with the point of the triangle. Stitch a 1/4" seam along the side of the strip set.
Once again, Chain Stitching here is going to save you a lot of time. So even though that means you will be stitching along the edge of your stip set where there is no white triangle on the top and bottom of each unit, it is still faster than stopping and starting each unit, and uses about the same amount of thread. Continue stitching a triangle onto all 100 Strip Set Units, 50 of each kind. When you are finished, clip the threads between each Strip Set Unit.
When you are finished stitching, press the seams outwards towards the white triangles. Somehow I lost this picture, I am sorry. You can see what the units should look like in the trimming pictures below ;)
STEP 5 - TRIMMING UNITS
And with your units all pieced now, you are ready to trim them into nice and neat squares. To do this, print the Trimming Template that can be found here. Be sure to print it to Actual Size, not shrunk. Your printer won't be able to print right to the edges but no worries. Place any square ruler, 8 1/2" or larger, on the Trimming template, aligning the 8 1/2" grids of your ruler with the edges of the paper and the top and bottom lines. With masking tape, mark the 8 1/2" side and bottom lines (if your ruler is larger than 8 1/2") and then mark the diagonal lines, aligning the edge of the tape with the diagonal line on the template. Trim any excess tape hanging over the edge of the ruler.
And now, we can make our block!!! We will be making 25 blocks total, and once again, I highly recommend doing each of these next steps in assembly fashion, chain stitch all 25 units each time to save time and thread. Layout 4 Trimmed Units as shown below, 2 of each type making an X.
Layout your 25 blocks as shown below in an alternating 5 x 5 layout. The alt reading layout is what gives it the cool optical illusion and makes you want to keep making a Double Take.
And all that is left is to just Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind it!!!! Yup, three big things in one little sentence. If you are new to quilting and need some tips on how to Baste It, Quilt It, and Bind It, you can check out my Finishing Your Quilt Video Series. It will walk you through it all in step by step detail. I quilted mine with horizontal and vertical straight lines in varying widths to add to that optical illusion.
STEP 9 - ENJOY
And you have a super striking, modern geometric Double Take Quilt that will be sure to be getting lots of second glances!!! And at 80" x 80" there is plenty of quilt to go around!!!
This quilt will make an awesome School Rally quilt as well, perfect for taking to the game ;) And if you want to give it that little finishing touch by adding a school logo, as I will be doing, you can see my Layered Applique Tutorial here to show you just how easy it can be.
I hope you have
enjoyed this tutorial and if you make your own Double Take Quilt I would love to see
it!! You can email me a picture at happyquiltingmelissa@gmail.com,
post it to social media with #happyquiltingwithmc or or add it to
my flickr group here ;) I can't wait to see your Double Take Quilts!!!
Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteQuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com
Love it!! I know college kids will too!
ReplyDeletethis is gorgeous. thanks for the pattern
ReplyDeleteMelissa, this is a fabulous quilt! It made me think of a couple older nephews who have not received a quilt from me because I just have never found the pattern that would work for them. Yipppeeee......they will love this pattern! Thank you so much for using your talents and creating patterns, quilts, tutorials and sharing so much of your talents! I hope that you have a fabulous creative day!
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant quilt, Melissa. I love patterns like this - looks like loads of work, but actually quite simple.
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt pattern and the quilt you made is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLove how bold and beautiful this quilt is! Great job. Love it!
ReplyDelete